


The Best Man

by cecelej



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, An angsty thing to get over s8, Angst, Arranged Marriage, F/M, M/M, but its also sweet?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 05:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16988904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecelej/pseuds/cecelej
Summary: Shiro and Allura have to get married to secure an alliance with earth. . .This wasn't what Keith had planned.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> S8 isn't canon.

‘A Hero General and an Interstellar Princess, the matrimony will bring an alliance stronger than the others. Humans are stubborn, but they’re partial to a whirlwind romance.’ 

Keith could recite the words backward and forward, so much so that he could even pick out the pitying tone in Coran’s voice. It tasted like salt on the back of his tongue. 

He ground his teeth down, fighting back the tears that were welling in the back of his throat. They ran out of his nose and he sniffled hard, wiping his sleeve across his face. He wouldn’t cry over this. This was what they’d been fighting for. Alliance. Freedom. Peace. . . Shiro.

He’d be lying if he said he was fighting for anything but Shiro. Shiro, who he would have given his life for, a fact that he’d proven. . . on more than one occasion .

But Shiro hadn’t fought for him. Not like that. He fought for Keith’s rights, just as he fought for everybody’s rights. He fought for everyone. He was truly the defender of the universe. His fight was still ongoing but Keith’s was dying before him, crumpling to sand in his bare hands. 

But if Shiro was alive, well, and happy, Keith would choke down every tear. He would help Shiro achieve the dream that he’d started out with. He would help save the universe. For Shiro. 

Even if that meant letting him go. 

His palms prickled with sweat and he took a ragged, spit covered breath. He dug his fingernails, now beginning to point into claw-like talons, into the flesh of his hand, trying to ease the heat that washed through his chest like fire. 

He’d always been able to control the fire. 

Now would be no different. 

One more sob of a breath and he straightened up. He’d barely noticed that his back had slumped into a pathetic hunch. He rubbed the rough sleeve of the garrison uniform against his cheeks. They came away dry. 

He would control the fire. 

He was the Red Paladin. It was what he did best. . . after loving the Black Paladin, that is. 

 

He calmed himself, feeling the flames lick down his heart, through his lungs and into his stomach, until he could barely feel them all. He sat on his bed, taking a deep breath. It was the last piece of his mask. Again, he was the aloof, distant paladin. Again, he swallowed the pain. 

 

The sharp rap at the door didn’t startle him. It was as familiar as his heartbeat. 

He stood, placing his hand on the touchpad by the door and watching the door glide open to reveal Shiro. 

“Shiro,” Keith said, not stepping aside to let the other man in, like he usually did. Because he usually did.

One meeting, and everything had changed between them. 

Still, Shiro tried to step in, worry in his features, an apology already forming on his lips. 

But Keith’s strong hand on his chest stopped him. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” Keith said. His voice was cold, but not bitter. They both knew what this marriage meant for them. Shiro being there wouldn’t serve them any justice. It would just serve to fan Keith’s flames, to burn out his insides and leave him in ruins. 

“Keith, please, let me talk to you, let me explain,” Shiro said. He had a desperate tinge to his voice that struck Keith’s stomach like poisonous harp strings. Shiro was hurt. But he’d accepted this without hesitation. Without conversation. 

Keith couldn’t help but quirk a small, sad smile. He wanted to take that worry, that pain, away. He let his hand splay softly against Shiro’s chest, gliding softly to the collar of his jacket. It laid uneven on his neck. 

“You don’t have to explain,” Keith said, focusing on the lapel as he smoothed it straight against Shiro’s neck. “You’ll marry Allura. She’ll be a good wife to you. And you’ll bring our people together. Your union will move us into the future.” Keith finally forced his eyes to Shiro’s. Shiro’s eyes, gray and wise, were wet with unshed tears. “And I’ll be proud to be your teammate. Your friend.” 

It tore out his heart to say it. 

Your friend. 

It shook his whole body not to say ‘I love you,’ as he’d said a thousand times before. ‘Love’ was still so new and strong. It would always be strong. 

But this, the newness of this deal, it would fade. In the years to come, he would be able to look at Shiro without his heart rocketing into his stomach. He could already hide it on his face. At least, he hoped he could. 

Shiro dipped his head down, reaching for Keith’s hand and pulling it to his cheek. Keith felt the hot drips of Shiro’s tears on his fingertips. Keith ached to kiss them away. But that wasn’t his place anymore. 

“Keith, I’m sorry,” Shiro whispered. His voice cracked and tore at Keith. The agony was nearly endless. 

“It’s okay,” Keith lied. “I understand.” 

Shiro leaned forward, his neck craning for a kiss, but Keith turned his head. Shiro paused, his nose brushing against Keith’s cheek. 

“Keith,” Shiro said. He sounded so broken, so close to begging. “Please.” 

Keith shook his head, afraid that if he spoke, his voice would sound thick and sad. He didn’t need Shiro to hear that. 

“Please, one last night with you.” And there it was, the begging. So much more vulnerable than Shiro should have been with him. But it was there, presented to Keith on a plate of despair. 

“Last night was our last night, Shiro,” Keith said softly, like he was explaining something to a child. “There’s no use dragging this out. I don’t want our last night to be filled with tears.” He lightly pushed at Shiro’s chest, separating them. “Goodnight, Shiro.” 

Shiro stood tall, stepping out of the door and nodding in understanding. Tears dripped off his nose but he didn’t wipe them away. He looked into Keith’s eyes, not at all ready to say goodbye to him. 

“Goodnight, Keith.” 

And Keith let the door slide closed on that chapter of his life.

 

/ / 

 

“The Red Paladin should be your best man,” Kolivan said. “Keith is your right hand man. It would look. . . strange not to have him by your side.” 

Kolivan was trying to approach the subject gently. Although their relationship had been a secret, too early to tell the world, most everyone knew that Keith and Shiro were meant to be together. Destined to be intertwined. From their lingering touches to their small smiles and stifled blushes, near everyone had seen the signs. Even their unflinching eye contact spoke of more. But this was war, and they had all lost too much to stop now. 

It was war, Keith reasoned, and to win a war you had to let go of the things you held dearest. Even if it killed you. 

“No,” Shiro said, he was firm and sure and Keith looked to him with scrunched brows and surprise. “Keith has enough other obligations with the blade and Voltron. He doesn’t need to busy himself with this wedding.” 

Shiro’s voice was strong, final, and, above all else, wrong. A silence stretched above everyone at the table. Kolivan looked to Keith, an almost pleading look in his eyes, one that Keith had never seen before. He understood it. The only thing standing between them and peace was this marriage. If everything didn’t go just right, the alliance could be in danger. Kolivan looked back to Shiro, breaking the cold silence. 

“If he isn’t there” Kolivan began, a slight hint of warning on his voice, but Keith interrupted. He stood, graceful as ever, from the tall meeting chair and looked to Shiro, the love of his life, his ‘friend.’ 

“I’d be honored to stand beside you, Shiro,” Keith said. He locked eyes with Shiro. ‘It’s okay,’ he thought, trying to convey the message to Shiro who looked back with concern. “If you’ll have me.” 

Shiro gave the subtlest of smiles. ‘Okay.’ He understood. If it wasn’t so heartbreaking, Keith might have smiled at their ability to know what each other is thinking. He might have let the feeling sit in his stomach like sweetness. But it was heartbreaking. 

And so it was decided. Keith would stand beside Shiro at the altar, and he would watch his soul mate marry someone else. 

 

/ / 

 

Keith trained alone. He had stepped back from the team. He wouldn’t let it interfere with Voltron, but he needed that space right now. To concrete his feelings as ‘non-existent.’ To become the loner that he’d once been. 

He could be that again. He was good at hiding. 

He crashed into a droid, one he hadn’t been prepared for. He slammed against its chest hard enough to knock the wind from him. It’s metal arms wrapped around him like a vise. He shouldn’t have been fighting at this level, not alone at least. He could feel where a bruise would develop on his ribs. He was about to call out to the main system to shut down, when a long swoop of a broadsword came down on the droid’s shoulder, slicing it clean in two. 

“You trying to kill yourself?” Lance asked, tense with aggravation. “End simulation!” He called before Keith could answer. 

“I had it under control,” Keith said, shrugging a straggling droid hand away from his shirt. 

“Sure, just like you have everything under control,” Lance snapped. “How’s the wedding planning going anyway?” 

Keith went cold under Lance’s comment. Lance had a way of doing that to him. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Keith shot back. 

“Oh nothing, nothing at all,” Lance said, crossing his arms tightly around his chest. 

“It sure seems like it means something,” Keith said. He was trying to be diplomatic, but he had so much pent up rage that it came out as sharp and angry. The adrenaline rush from training wasn’t helping him any either. 

“It means everything was okay a week ago! I thought you and Shiro had a thing going! And now. . . Now he’s marrying Allura! What is that?! Two weeks ago she said she’d go out with me and now . . . . . now she’s engaged to YOUR crush?! How could you let that happen!? Doesn’t he know how you feel!? Why don’t you tell him?! He’ll go to you and Allura will have to marry me! I’m a hero too! I helped save the world too!” Lance said, his voice cold and clear and so much more serious than Keith was used to. It washed Keith’s anger away. 

Keith and Lance were in the same boat. And it was taking on water, much more water than either of them could scoop out. Not with their bare hands or with buckets. They were helpless, watching as the water rose up past their shoes. At least Lance was still trying to shovel out the water. At least he hadn’t resigned himself to drowning. 

Keith pushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes, tying it into a loose ponytail. 

“He knows,” Keith said. His voice was calm and flat, making it easy to step out of Lance’s hostile bubble. Keith walked to the edge of the room where a towel and a water bottle waited for him. 

“What do you mean he knows?” Lance said, a snarl to his voice. “Did you tell him? Because he can be as dense as you are! You need to tell him to his face,” Lance demanded.

Keith took a swig from his water bottle and draped the towel around his neck. He wiped at his damp forehead and turned back to Lance who was approaching with angry footfalls. 

“It wasn’t a crush, Lance. We were together. We hadn’t told anyone yet.” Keith paused, rubbing his neck with the towel, just so he had something for his hands to do as he thought. “But the universe’s safety relies on Shiro and Allura being together. And yes, you’re a hero. What you’ve done for the universe is immeasurable. But Shiro. . . Shiro is ‘The Hero.’ Head of Voltron, Captain of Atlas, Survivor. It’s the story everyone wants to hear. And if I can let Shiro go, you can let go of Allura.” 

“How do you know that? How do you know I can do that? I’m not like you, I don’t cut people off and run off on my own. That’s not me!” Lance argued.

“Come on, Lance. You’re not stupid,” Keith said with a sigh. “I know you really like Allura, I do. But you and Allura aren’t me and Shiro. Shiro was the only person in my life, the only person who cared, for so long. I’ve been in love with him since I met him. I was always his. . . I know you know why it’s different.”

“N-no,” Lance said, his anger had fallen away to his sadness, to his confusion. “You were supposed to fix it. You were supposed to tell Shiro you love him and. . . and fix this all.” 

“There’s nothing to fix, Lance. They’re not ours anymore,” Keith said. “I’m sorry.” 

“You’re just going to let him go?” Lance asked, disbelief coloring his tone. “You, who died with him, more than once! You’re going to let him go?!” 

Keith paused. Then shrugged. 

“He made his choice,” Keith said. “What else is there to do?” 

 

/ / 

 

“Ah! Keith! Just the paladin I wanted to see!” Coran said, pulling Keith off course from where he was headed down the hallway. Coran led him to an observatory room, one that Keith recognized. 

Shiro had brought him here back before the Kerberos mission, back when Keith was just a kid with an unrealistic crush on Shiro. He remembered the cold thoughts ‘Shiro would never stoop to my level. He’s too good for me.’ But he remembered Shiro’s dazzling smile, his unmarred face and his black hair, too. It felt like a different lifetime. 

Once, after Shiro had gone missing, Keith came to the conservatory. He stared up at all of the stars and felt more alone than he ever had before. All the stars in the sky, and all the people in the world, and not one knew he existed. 

Now, standing there, below billions of stars, Keith didn’t feel so alone. Shiro was there again. 

And just like back then, Shiro was an arms length away. But it might as well have been light-years away. Keith felt farther from Shiro now than he ever had. They’d had everything. And they gave it away. 

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Coran said, but Keith hadn’t been listening. He didn’t even know what Coran had been prattling on about. Instead of answering, he let Coran continue, and looked around the open room. 

Coran had set up shop there, including setting up the copious amounts of photos that he carried with him. Most of which were of Alfor. Coran and Alfor when they were younger, Alfor and Allura’s mother as they aged, Alfor and Allura. 

He remembered the speech Coran had given him. Keith had walked out of the meeting hall in a daze, nearly stumbling over his own feet, and beside him, Coran had given him a pitying smile. 

“A Hero General and an Interstellar Princess, the matrimony will bring an alliance stronger than the others. Humans are stubborn, but they’re partial to a whirlwind romance,” Coran said, trying to sound upbeat. 

But maybe it wasn’t pity that coated Coran’s gesture. Maybe it was familiarity. 

“Coran?” Keith asked, bluntly interrupting Coran. But Coran didn’t flinch or get upset at the interruption. He promptly quieted down and moved closer to where Keith had gravitated toward the pictures. He waited patiently as Keith picked up a framed photo of Coran and Alfor. 

Alfor had an arm around Coran’s broad shoulders, holding him close, their bare skin touching unabashedly. They wore what seemed to be swim trunks, and although the colors were different from earth, it was obvious they were at a swimming hole of some kind. 

“When did King Alfor meet Allura’s mother?” Keith asked. It wasn’t the question Coran expected, but his smile softened. He wasn’t surprised by Keith’s curiosity. 

“Oh, they’d been promised to each other since childhood,” Coran said, looking at all the frames and picking one out. He handed it to Keith, who stacked it on top of the other. Alfor and his bride on their wedding day. “Archaic,” Coran continued, “but a monarchy strives with perfectly picked pairs. Two strong rulers.” 

There was a long pause as Keith stared at the picture that Coran had picked for him. The terse smiles on their faces covered up the beaming smiles from the first picture. 

“Is that all?” Coran asked. 

“No,” Keith said after a pause. He looked at Coran. 

“Did he know?” Keith asked. 

“That he was betrothed? Of course, since childhood. His parents were very proud of his bride to be. She was a good choice for him, for the kingdom.” 

“No. Did he know how you felt about him?” Keith clarified. 

Another sad smile. 

“He knew, just as Shiro knows, I would suppose,” Coran said. He gave Keith a knowing look and Keith had to fight a blush. There was more going on here. He had no time to be bashful. 

“And you just let him go?” Keith asked, feeling too much like the Lance he talked to not long ago. He could hear a hint of hostility tingeing his own voice and he tried his best to reign it in. But, of course, Coran didn’t mind. He smiled the hostility away and continued on in a soothing tone. 

“He had responsibilities that far outshined me,” Coran said. “I was proud just to be able catch some of the stardust that came off of his coattails.” 

Keith ducked his head, feeling a gut wrenching sorrow. Sorrow for Coran, sorrow for Lance, and, worst of all, sorrow for himself. 

“But, I always knew he wasn’t mine,” Coran said when Keith said nothing. “I knew that he was engaged when I got involved.” Coran stood across from Keith, lightly taking the photos from Keith’s hands. Keith looked up in confusion to find Coran looking back at him with big, sad eyes. “I’m sorry that we couldn’t give you that courtesy.” 

Keith‘s face was dry, both surprising Coran and not at all surprising him. Keith wasn’t a crier, but he was hurt, and only human. 

“What was it you dragged me in here for?” Keith asked, trying to get back to whatever Coran had been saying before, trying to change the topic.

Coran rested a hand, warm and heavy, on the back of Keith’s neck, ruffling the tangled hair there and not looking away from his deep, purple eyes. 

“The wedding is tomorrow,” Coran said, the real reason why he’d called Keith in. “Will you be alright?” 

“Did you stand beside Alfor when he married her?” Keith asked. 

Coran shook his head, his hand falling away from Keith’s messy hair. “I was just a servant in the palace. I had been since I was a child, it was how we met. . . I watched from the kitchen window.”

Keith nodded. 

“Be grateful for that privacy, Coran.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this because I was feeling angsty after s8! It's just a quick thing that ima add a second part to later.  
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
>  
> 
> (feel free to talk to me about s8, i didn't hate it. . . . . . . well i didn't hate everything, and i'd love to know what everyone else is feeling)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like if you cried

Keith burst into the large dance hall, bypassing the drinks, the food, the empty dance floor, for the bathroom. It was empty and he sunk down by the sinks, his face in his hands. He wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t cry. He would not cry. 

But tears were slick on his face, hot like boiling water, streaming like rivers. 

He couldn’t control the fire. It was burning him from the inside out. He took a long, sobbing breath. It broke up into smaller, ragged, gasps for air. He pulled his knees up and sobbed like a child. He hadn’t sobbed this hard, maybe ever. Even when his father had died, Keith was a child, but he’d conquered the flames. 

Keith caught the sound of the door opening and had only a second to scramble to his feet. He faced the sink, running the water and dipping his tear-streaked face away from the mirror. He couldn’t lift his face to look at whatever stranger had come through the door. He knew everyone there, every face had a name, but they all felt like strangers now. 

“Keith?” The warm, familiar voice made a new wave of tears run down his face, making rivers and streams over his cheeks and down his chin. He knew his shirt was wet with tears. 

A warm hand rested on his shoulder and he ducked his head farther down toward the sink. Leave it to Shiro to be the only thing his heart would recognize at a time like this. 

“Please, look at me,” Shiro said. “I feel like I haven’t seen you since. . . since we got the news.” 

Keith shook his head. 

“Go. Your first dance is going to start. What will they think if you’re late?” Keith didn’t say it to be cruel and Shiro knew that. He could hear it in the soft tone. 

“Please, Keith,” Shiro said again, touching a finger to Keith’s chin, only for Keith to jerk away from him. 

“No. Leave me here. There’s nothing you can do to help. Just leave.” 

Shiro didn’t try to touch Keith again. He took a step back, hoping Keith would tell him to wait, but he didn’t. 

When Keith reached the dance floor, most of the guests had already gotten up to join the party. Keith slipped around the back of the hall, knowing that Coran and Lance were already out there, sharing their collective misery. 

 

/ / 

 

Keith was lying in bed, sick to his stomach. He hadn’t had anything to drink, or to eat for that matter. Instead, he was sick on his own thoughts. He was replaying every touch, every kiss, that Shiro had shared with him the last time they’d shared Shiro’s bed. And now, Allura was in that bed. Consummating their marriage. 

He wondered if Allura would use her shape-shifting to satisfy Shiro like Keith used to. Not that it would matter, Shiro wouldn’t be attracted to her even if she did. He didn’t like girls. 

Still, he hoped that Shiro wouldn’t be completely miserable. He didn’t want Shiro to be unhappy. He just. . . didn’t want him to have sex with anyone else. He didn’t think that was too much to ask. 

Keith groaned, pushing himself up out of bed. If he couldn’t sleep, he would wander the halls. He put his hand on the pad beside the door, watching it slide open.

A figure stood, waiting in the dark of the hallway, surrounded by a halo of white.

Instinctively, Keith reached for his bayard, which wasn’t strapped to his pajama pants, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw the figure on the other side of his door. 

Long white hair tied in a messy bun, a white slip, and bare feet. Allura nearly jumped out of her own skin. She had just barely raised her fist to knock on Keith’s door when it had slid open. 

“Princess!” Keith said, shocked by her appearance. 

“Keith!” Allura said, parroting Keith’s shocked voice. 

Keith’s stomach turned as he looked her over. She looked disheveled and too sexy to not have just been fooling around with someone. With Shiro. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice moving to a hiss of a whisper as he remembered that it was nearly 3 in the morning. 

Allura looked down each side of the hallway then slipped into his room without permission. 

“I came to speak with you,” Allura said. Keith opened his mouth to speak, but Allura shook her head and held a hand up to silence him. She fell onto his bed with a huff, grabbing his pillow and cradling it to her chest. “With everything happening so quickly, I didn’t have a moment to speak with you about anything.” 

“With. . . me?” Keith asked. He knew that some of the others knew about his situation with Shiro, to an extent. But the Princess. . . she was so busy, so responsible, he was sure the news wouldn’t have filtered through her consciousness. “Shouldn’t you be. . . you know, with Shiro?” 

“God no,” Allura said, so bluntly that Keith felt offended on Shiro’s behalf. “I’ve never slept in a bed with a man in my entire life. Especially not one that’s bound to someone else.” 

“Dressed like that I can’t see why not,” Keith said, not meaning to sound petty but knowing he did anyway. 

“Huh?” She asked, then looked down at her nightgown. “Oh, appearances. It’s why I shouldn’t be here in your room either, but, well, we have the Blade as our security. And, if I’m being honest, I haven’t been able to sleep well without talking to you.” 

“So. . . what is it you want to tell me?” Keith asked. 

“Well,” Allura curled herself tighter to Keith’s pillow and looked away from him. “Put simply, I don’t want to keep you from Shiro.”

Keith froze, his lack posture turning tense like stone. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He watched a blush rise on Allura’s face in slow motion. His brain had stopped working, and for a tick, her red cheeks were the only thing he could process. 

“I. . . what?” Keith asked when he regained thought.

“I’m so ashamed,” Allura said, burying her face farther into Keith’s pillow. She found herself wishing for her own room, filled with plush pillows and the mountain of stuffed animals that Lance and Pidge had collected for her. Keith’s pillow was flat and cold and smelled like, well, Keith. “I should have said something. But Shiro accepted the proposal, the plan, so quickly. It felt like the only option. . . but it wasn’t, was it?” Allura ended in a whisper, her voice soft, and scared, and so, so young. 

Keith was reminded that Allura wasn’t an all-knowing leader. She was just a girl. She was younger than him, if you didn’t count all of those years in the sleep chamber, which most people did. But the glimmer of tears took those years away. 

Keith sighed, sitting beside her on the bed. She looked to him, a single tear running down her cheek. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. He could hear her trying to hold back an onslaught of tears. 

“It was our best option,” Keith said, not to appease Allura, but because it was true. “And I guess, since no one objected, there was no reason not to take it. It’s not your fault. We’re just doing what we have to do.” 

“You’ll go see him then?” Allura asked. She sniffled and used the inside of her wrist to wipe away another tear. 

“I. . . no, Allura. I can’t,” Keith said, turning away from her. 

“He needs you, Keith,” Allura said, a whisper of fight in her voice. When Keith ducked his head, shaking it once, her voice rose. “He NEEDS you!” She said, desperation in her voice. 

And Keith had to cover his face. He rested his elbows on his knees, face in his palms. Shiro needed him, and Keith couldn’t come to his rescue. This wasn’t life or death. This was conditioning. 

Keith was strong enough to stay away, for Shiro. And Shiro would get used to that. The hurt would ease. Keith would ease it by staying away. 

But as he sat there, listening to Allura’s begging, he felt his own eyes welling up with tears. 

“Stop,” Keith said, his voice ragged. “You’re not making this easier for anybody.” 

The bed shifted and Keith felt as Allura grabbed at his sleep shirt with strong, lithe hands. 

“I’m telling you to go to him! I want you to go! I don’t think he’ll recover from this! You didn’t see him after the party, you don’t know!” Allura said, shaking Keith by the shirt and letting tears slide down her face in fat drops. 

Keith let himself be manhandled by her only until her crying picked up. Then he stood, ripping himself from her grip as gently as he could. He stood by the door. His head was down, and he used his long bangs to cover his face. He wasn’t sure what the expression on his face was, but he knew it would betray him. 

“Collect yourself, Princess,” Keith said. His voice was cold and demanding. A captain’s orders. 

“NO!” Allura all but yelled out, shocking Keith with the sound. She pulled at the pillow on the bed, hurling it toward Keith and knocking him in the shoulder with it. “I came here to make things right! I’m not leaving until you help me fix this! If you don’t go to him, I will destroy everything. I will ruin this marriage. I will make people pity him-”

Almost before the last word was out of her mouth, Keith was at her side, hauling her up by her arm, his hand tight and strong on her bicep. 

“You will go to your husband. You will keep your mouth shut. And you will be a good wife to him. Do not make our sacrifice for nothing,” Keith growled out. He knew his teeth had grown sharp, his eyes glowing yellow. Worse, he knew his nails were biting into the bare skin of Allura’s soft arm. But he held her close, an inch from his face, rage filling him. 

Still, there was no fear on her face. She lifted a hand, swiping his bangs behind his ear and gathering tear drops on her fingertips. 

“I will. And in return, you will go to your lover,” Allura said. Her voice a soft whisper. “You will take him in your arms. And when this is all over, when the alliance is set and strong, you will wear his ring.” 

She looked down to her hand, easily slipping a ring off her finger. In shock, Keith’s grip on her loosened, but his hand stayed on her arm. He felt his Galra features fading away. 

She reached up, pulling the chain from beneath his shirt. He reached for it protectively, but she swatted his hand away, pulling the dog tags from their spot above Keith’s heart. 

In a quick motion, she unlatched the chain behind Keith’s neck, just long enough to slip the silver ring onto it before clasping it shut again. Then, almost before Keith realized what was happening, she tucked it back into his shirt. 

“It was too big for me anyway,” Allura said. “Now go,” she added, pushing Keith out of his own bedroom door. “I have someone else I have to see.” 

 

/ / 

 

Keith let himself into Shiro’s bedroom. It was dark, and too warm, and Keith was sure he heard the ghost of a cut off sob. His eyes adjusted as the door closed behind him. He could see Shiro, laying on his side, breathing unevenly. It was obvious, though maybe only to Keith, that Shiro was only feigning sleep. 

As gently as he could manage, Keith slid into the bed beside him, sure that Shiro thought it was Allura returning to her new, rightful spot. 

But it wasn’t home for Allura. It was Keith’s spot, his home, beside Shiro. He turned on his own side, a hand sliding slowly over Shiro’s side and resting softly on his chest. 

Shiro startled at the all too familiar touch, latching quickly onto Keith’s hand with his own and holding it over his heart. 

Keith ducked his nose against Shiro’s warm back and felt the stuttering breath that Shiro took, holding back tears, and bursting with relief, at Keith’s touch. 

“I don’t know when Allura will be back,” Shiro whispered, holding tighter to Keith’s hand, knowing that the words could send him away, but saying them anyway, because he was the Universe’s Defender. He would do whatever he could to save them all, even break his own heart. 

“She won’t be,” Keith whispered, returning Shiro’s fierce grip. “Not tonight. She sent me.” 

“I thought I lost you,” Shiro said.

Keith felt tears like salty waves on his face. Shiro lifted their hands to his cheek and Keith felt tears there too. 

“I thought I was doing right by you,” Keith whispered back. 

At the sound of Keith’s tear choked words, Shiro turned to face him, curling tightly into Keith’s arms. He leaned in, their lips meeting in a desperate, passionate kiss. 

“You were, you are,” Shiro said. “I promise, I’ll make this up to you.” Guilt painted Shiro’s words as he continued to kiss Keith, pressing little pecks on the corner of his mouth. 

“It’s not your fault, you don’t have to make anything up to me. We’ll fix this together. You, me, Allura. . . and Lance.” Keith said. 

Keith pulled back, pushing back Shiro’s messy hair and wiping a thumb over Shiro’s wet cheek. He smiled down at Shiro, a small, hopeful smile that made his wet eyes shine bright in the dark. 

“L-Lance?” Shiro asked.

“Where do you think the Princess is now?” Keith said with a small huff of a laugh. 

Shiro craned his neck up, a small smile gracing his own lips, and kissed Keith again, long, and slow. 

“I love you,” Shiro whispered as they pulled apart. They were still close enough that Keith could feel Shiro’s lips move on his as he spoke. 

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, tell me if you see typos, i don't proofread very well lol 
> 
>  
> 
> Here's my linktree if you want to find more of my writing and my art!:  
> linktr.ee/courtneylej_art

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I was feeling angsty after s8! It's just a quick thing that ima add a second part to later.   
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
>  
> 
> (feel free to talk to me about s8, i didn't hate it. . . . . . . well i didn't hate everything, and i'd love to know what everyone else is feeling)


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